Page 70 of Diamonds

“He barely spoke.Except…” She wrinkles her forehead.“He told me where to find his new will.He had it redone the day after you turned eighteen, Maddox.I mean, you know.You were there when they read it.”

I clench my hands into fists.“And him bringing his will up out of nowhere didn’t tip you off that something was wrong?”

She shrugs.“The only people who really needed to know where the will was were me and you.Really just you, since as a divorced spouse, I was considered legally dead.But the two of you weren’t on speaking terms, so I was the one who got to keep the information.Good thing he told me, too.Not too much later he was in the ground.”

“Did he say anything specific?”

“He was adamant that his will was crystal clear about his car.He wanted to make sure that the car was passed directly to you, and as quickly as possible after his death.He made sure that it wouldn’t have to go through probate like the rest of his money.”

I raise my eyebrows.“Why would he care so much about his car?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.Maybe he felt you deserved something nice after what you did.You probably won’t believe me when I tell you this, Maddox, but a part of your father was very proud of you for standing up to him.For walking down your own path.”

I frown.It’s not adding up.If he was so damned proud of me for choosing the haberdashery, why the hell didn’t he leave me his riches?I could have opened ten haberdasheries with the kind of money he had lying around.

I never understood exactly why he left me a car.I was happy to take it—the old clunker I’d been driving around since my eighteenth birthday was years past its expiration date.

But now that I know he had a reason for leaving me the membership to Aces…

Maybe there’s a reason he left me the car, too.

22

ALISSA

Maddox jumps to his feet.“Mother, it’s been a charming visit as always.Let’s do it again in another ten years.”

Marty scowls and takes another drink from her bottle of wine.“Hopefully I’ll be dead by then.”

“Always looking on the bright side.”He turns to me.“Ready?”

I stand up slowly, turn to Maddox’s mother.“It was lovely to meet you, Marty.”

She rolls her eyes.“No need to lie on my account, honey.I know you can’t wait to leave.”

I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I just turn toward the door.

Maddox rushes ahead and—of course—opens it for me.We step out into the cloudy day.

“Where to next?”I ask him.“You told me to take the whole day off from work.”

“We need to figure out where our friends from the symphony live.”He glances at my purse.“You said you found their Facebook profiles?”

“I did.”I grab my phone out of my bag and pull up the app.“I found his wife’s.I don’t know if Mr.Gimble has one.”

“Google them.If they’re registered voters, you should be able to figure out their home address.”

I pull up my search app and type inWade Gimble,Illinois voter registration.

A people-finding website pulls up.I click on a few links.I have to close out a few popups, but then I get a home address.

I show it to Maddox.“Looks like he and his wife live in Winnetka.”

He rolls his eyes.“Of fucking course they do.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Winnetka is a ritzy suburb,” Maddox explains.“You’ve seen the movieHome Alone,right?”